Hong Kong National Security Trial Hears Final Arguments in Tiananmen Vigil Case

A Hong Kong court heard final arguments on Monday in a national security trial against two former organizers of the city's annual Tiananmen Square vigil. The defendants, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, face a charge of inciting subversion under a national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.

The two are former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, a group that for decades organized large-scale public commemorations of the 1989 crackdown. Those vigils, which once drew tens of thousands of people, were banned in 2020. Chow and Lee were charged in 2021 and have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they could face up to ten years in prison. A third defendant, Albert Ho, pleaded guilty when the trial began in January, which could result in a reduced sentence.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that the defendants' advocacy for ending one-party rule in China amounted to inciting others to use unlawful means to overthrow the leadership of the Communist Party. They alleged the defendants were not advocating for amending the constitution through legal channels.

In his final arguments, prosecutor Ned Lai stated that freedoms of...